By Bill W
May 6, 2014 – Carson McCarl had arguably the fastest car he has had all year come feature time at Knoxville. After charging up several spots, however, he was unable to avoid an incident and had to go the tail. He was able to come back through the field for a twelfth place finish, however, and he will return to Knoxville Raceway this Saturday night.
Carson started the night with a qualifying effort that netted twelfth quick in the 360 class. “I messed up in qualifying,” he admits. “I didn’t quite hit my marks as good as I should have. That really hurt us and put us behind the 8-ball a little bit. You really need to make that top eight inversion for the feature.”
Starting inside row two, he was able to win his heat race in one of the most entertaining showdowns of the night. “We had a really good car all night,” says Carson. “We started third in the heat race, and took the lead going into turn one. (Tom) Lenz got by me about halfway through, and we were able to drive back on the bottom and get back by him for the win.”
It was a stark contrast between Carson, who was the youngest ever champion when he won the 305 track title three years ago at the age of 16, and Lenz, who was the 1989 Rookie of the Year at Knoxville…six years before Carson’s birth. “It was a lot of fun,” says Carson. “Tom is a cool guy. I’ve talked to him a few times this year, and he’s a good racer. That was a lot of fun.”
Starting eleventh in the feature, Carson worked his way forward until tagging the wall to avoid a spun car. “We had a really good car again in the feature. I was up to seventh with a couple of laps in the books,” he says. “Another car ended up spinning out in front of us, and all of us were trying to avoid him. A couple of us tried to squeeze between him and the wall. Unfortunately, I got into the fence.”
The Altoona, Iowa driver felt a vibration. “The car was shaking really hard, so I pulled into the work area,” says Carson. “My guys told me the wheel was bent a little bit, and it would vibrate a little bit, but I would be fine.”
Starting back at the tail, he would come back through the field for the twelfth place finish. “I went back out there and went high or low, wherever I needed to go to get by the cars in front of me,” says Carson. “We ended up twelfth. It wasn’t the result we were looking for. I think we had a top five car for sure, but we’ll keep plugging away at it.”
Carson would like to thank Mastell Brothers Trailer Service, Inc., Deanfield Farms (Gary and Sally Dean), Berryhill Racing, Vortex, Rossie Feed & Grain, Hoosier, DeBerg Concrete, HRP, Engler Machine, Phil and Vivian, Rider Racing Engines, Justice Brothers-Gillund Enterprises, Country Builders Construction, CM Rock, Bayaire Industries, Hinchman Racewear, Schoenfeld Headers, BMRS, Crow Safety, Butlerbuilt, KSE, Aurora Rod Ends, Chris Spaulding – Attorney at Law, Bell and Jocko’s for all their help!
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